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The mid-air collision of two Hawk jets during a training flight in Perho, Central Ostrobothnia, at roughly midday Wednesday claimed the life of one military pilot. The cause of the collision remains unclear as the Finnish Air Force has yet to shed light on the details of the incident. “We have yet to look into all aspects, so we still don't know for example what happened with the ejection seat,” Colonel Jukka Ahlberg, the director of the Training Air Wing, stressed later on Wednesday.

The other pilot, the Air Force has confirmed, ejected himself successfully from the jet and was able to walk into an ambulance after his discovery at roughly 1 pm. He was taken to a Kokkola hospital with non-life-threatening injuries. The pilots of both jets were flight instructors at the Kauhava-based Training Air Wing and have been described as experienced. The third Hawk jet that took part in the exercise landed safely at the Kauhava airport.